Mr Sarkozy, who is trailing the socialist François Hollande
in opinion polls seven weeks before the presidential election, came
under pressure to promise a referendum on the pact after he pledged to
consult the people directly on significant issues if re-elected.

“No,” he replied when asked on French radio yesterday if he would put
the treaty to a public ballot. “If you’re dealing with a treaty with 200
articles, 250 articles, I can’t see how you’d formulate a clear
question.”

And Merkel along with parliamentary complicity and in complete opposition of the people's opinion, pushed for the Greek bailout:

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel won a
parliamentary vote on Greek aid after warning German lawmakers that
pushing Greece out of the euro would risk “incalculable” damage, defying
a public backlash against more bailout funds.

In a ballot that showed dissent in her coalition
growing, 496 members of the lower house, or Bundestag, backed the 130
billion-euro ($174 billion) package yesterday in Berlin; 90 voted
against and five abstained. While questions on Greece’s remaining in the
euro “have their justification,” Merkel warned that a failure of the
euro might endanger the European Union and the global economy.

“Angela Merkel’s strident insistence that bailing
out Greece is vastly preferable to the alternative was important,” Kit
Juckes, head of foreign-exchange research at Societe Generale SA, said
in a note today as he forecast the euro rising to $1.50. “Europe’s
leaders have always stepped back from the edge of the abyss after
flirting with disaster.”

Of course, the bankers being bailed out are supportive of these fascistic behaviours and ideas.